gammat, noun
/ˈxamat/
- Forms:
- Show more Also gamaat, gamat, ghammat, and with initial capital.
- Origin:
- Adaptation of Mohamed.
derogatory, offensive
1.
a. A man of Cape Malay descent; a ‘coloured’ man. b. A given name for a stereotypical Cape Malay folk-figure, often the subject of jokes. Also attributive. In both senses also called Gammatjie. Cf. Meraai.
a1951 H.C. Bosman Willemsdorp (1977) 58From his speech and mannerisms, and also, to some extent, from his name, Josias, you would be..inclined to classify him as a Cape Gamat.
1986 V. Cooke et al. in S. Gray Market Plays 34Who’s this goffel?..Born in Cape Town. He’s a gamat...Does he think he’s American or something. He’s a Hottentot, man.
‖2. In full gammat-taal /-ˌtɑːl/ [Afrikaans taal language]: Capey sense 1 b. Cf. gamtaal.
1974 Informant, Grahamstown (now Makhanda, Eastern Cape)The Cape Coloured hawker on the Grand Parade has an idiomatic language — ‘gammat-taal’ — of his own.
1982 P. McMagh in J. Branford Dict. of S. Afr. Eng. (1987) 83The word diener..it’s currently the gamat for policeman.
3. [A play on the Afrikaans pronunciation of GMA (/xi: em "A:/).] A nickname for either of two Garratt steam locomotives, the GMA or its modified version, the GMAM.
1978 Lewis & Jorgensen Great Steam Trek 52In 1958 the GEAs were supplanted as far as Riversdale by GMAs (nicknamed ‘Gammats’).
1978 Lewis & Jorgensen Great Steam Trek 94Four types of articulateds were used on the Cape Eastern system from 1875, and the GMAMs or ‘Gammats’ were the only really successful ones.
A man of Cape Malay descent; a ‘coloured’ man.
A given name for a stereotypical Cape Malay folk-figure, often the subject of jokes. Also attributive. In both senses also called Gammatjie.
In full gammat-taal /-ˌtɑːl/ [Afrikaans taal language]: Capey sense 1 b.
A nickname for either of two Garratt steam locomotives, the GMA or its modified version, the GMAM.
Visualise Quotations
Quotation summarySenses
Copyright © 2023 Dictionary Unit for South African English.